Container assembly and improved clamping ring therefor

ABSTRACT

An improved split clamping ring releasably locks a cover to an open end of a drum or container. The clamping ring includes a locking assembly having a locking lever and linkage connected between the adjacent ends of the split ring and to the lever whereby the lever may be pivoted towards and away from the ring to, respectively, close and open the ring. A latch connected to the split ring is also pivotally mounted towards and away from the ring to retain the lever in locked position and permit its release, respectively. A hinge strap secured to one end of the split ring serves to pivotally connect the base of the lever to this ring end and is provided with outwardly projecting flanges which are adapted to engage with internal adjacent surfaces of the lever to prevent unintentional or undesirable lateral movement of the lever when in a locked position thereby assuring the proper location and relationship of the clamping ring relative to the associated surfaces of the cover and drum.

United States Patent 1 Santoni Oct. 30, 1973 [75] Inventor: CesarSantoni, Hamilton, Ontario,

Canada [73] Assignee: Grief Bros. Corporation, Delaware,

Ohio

[22] Filed: June 10, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 151,801

Primary ExaminerRichard E. Moore Attorneyl(ane, Dalsimer, Kane, Sullivanand Kurucz [57] ABSTRACT An improved split clamping ring releasablylocks a cover to an open end of a drum or container. The clamping ringincludes a locking assembly having a locking lever and linkage connectedbetween the adjacent ends of the split ring and to the lever whereby thelever may be pivoted towards and away from the ring to, respectively,close and open the ring. A latch connected to the split ring is alsopivotally mounted towards and away from the ring to retain the lever inlocked position and permit its release, respectively. A hinge strapsecured to one end of the split ring serves to pivotally connect thebase of the lever to this ring end and is provided with outwardlyprojecting flanges which are adapted to engage with internal adjacentsurfaces of the lever to prevent unintentional or undesirable lateralmovement of the lever when in a locked position thereby assuring theproper location and relationship of the clamping ring relative to theassociated surfaces of the cover and drum.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F/GZ N Rm w O E T N N R E 0m n IM A 6 Patented Oct. 30, 1973 Patented Oct. 30, 1973 3,768,848

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR CESflA 54/YTO/Y/ ATTORNEYS CONTAINER ASSEMBLYAND IMPROVED CLAMPING RING THEREFOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Theclamping ring of this invention constitutes an improvement over thetypes commercially available and marketed and particularly the versionsof clamping ring disclosed in U. S. Pat. Nos. 3,339,962, granted Sept.5, 1967 and No. 3,439,949, granted April 22, I969. The clamping ringsdisclosed in these patents generally include horizontal, lever-operatedclosing members, which are swung in a plane parallel to that of the topdrum rim or clamping ring on a fiber drum or steel drum. In actual use,however, there is concern from time to time when finally closing thelever against the ring as to whether it may pull downwardly or upwardlyfrom its correct or desired location during handling, shipping orstorage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention solves the foregoing problem andalleviates the concern by providing in the clamping ring upturned edgesguides or flanges which form part of the hinge strap ordinarily disposedinside of the lever when in a closed or locked position. In this mannerit is assured that untrained individuals would properly close theclamping ring by bringing the lever into its proper locked relationshipbecause the lever is guided through its intended path of travel and theintended alignment of this lever with the latch is thereby facilitated.

Other objects and disadvantages will become apparent from the followingdetailed description which is to be taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings illustrating somewhat preferred embodiments of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an exploded fragmentary front elevational view of a drum,cover and clamping ring incorporating the teachings of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the drum, cover and clamping ringin assembled position;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view of the lockingmechanism of the clamping ring;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the assembled drum, closure and clampingring;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 ofFIG. 4 with certain parts broken away and removed;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG.3; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the clamping ring with latchand locking lever in an open position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the form of the inventionillustrated in FIG. I, the improved clamping ring 10 serves toreleasably close the metal cover 12 across the top opening of the metaldrum or container 14. A typical metal drum 14 will include a metalbottom closure 16 permanently sealed and secured to the lower peripheraledge of the tubular body 18. The tubular body 18 is open at its upperend and includes a chime portion defined by an outwardly turnedsubstantially tubular bead 20 which serves to support the peripheralportion of cover 12. The cover 12 is generally made of sheet metal andmay assume any one of many conventional designs in which a centraldisc-shaped portion 22 extends into one or more circular reinforcingribs 24 having an upwardly depending cylindrical apron 26 adapted tonest with or engage the inner wall of the upper end of the tubular body18. A concave-convex peripheral flange 28 extends from the upper part ofthe skirt 26 and is adapted to rest upon the tubular head 20 of thechime of the container 14. Obviously, other bead and chime constructionsare contemplated by this invention including both outward and inwardtubular bead.

The drum or container and cover assembly heretofore described arerepresentative of many forms of construction well known to the art andtrade and the drum as well as cover may be formed of sheet steel oraluminum, convolutely or spirally wound laminated layers of kraft board,fiber or the like, reinforced plastics or combinations of fiber andmetal or fiber or metal having coatings or linings therein.

Referring now to the improved clamping ring 10, a split ring 30 made ofsuitable resilient metal such as steel is provided with a lockingmechanism connected between ends 32 and 34 whereby the ring may beexpanded to permit its assembly around the dover 12 and drum 14 orcontracted to tightly engage the assembled cover and container inholding the cover in place over the top of the drum 14 in a manner wellknown in the art. The locking mechanism 10 to which the presentinvention applies, may assume many different forms and configurationsas, for example, that shown in the above identified patents as well asthose known to the trade. In the exemplary locking mechanism illustratedin the drawings, a locking lever 36 is pivoted or hinged at its base end38 to a hinge strap 40 by means of pin 42. This hinge strap 40 issuitably connected and secured to end 32 of the split ring 30. Thelocking lever 36 is also pivotally connected at an intermediate point tolink 44 which is pivotally connected to hinge strap 46 connected to theother ring end 34. Thus, when the lever 36 is pivoted outwardly relativeto the split ring 30, the ring is expanded to permit its assembly aboutthe combined cover 12 and drum l4; and when the lever is pivotedinwardly and eventually into engagement with the split ring 30, the ringis contracted to exert a compressive then holding force about theassembled cover and drum.

In order to assure the proper relationship of the lever 36 and the splitring 30 as the lever is being pivoted to its locking position, the hingestrap 40 is provided with outwardly extending or upturned edge guides orflanges 48 and 50. These guides advantageously nest or are disposedbetween the usual spaced flanges 52 and 54, resepctively. When thisrelationship occurs, the locking lever 36 is in its proper closedposition and any upwardly or downwardly directed force or pressure onthe locking lever will cause its flanges to engage with these guides.

A latch 56 may be shiftable', either upwardly or downwardly, assuggested in the above identified patents, to lock the free end of thelever 36. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated herein, the latch 56is pivotally mounted on the split ring 30 between and upwardly extendingunlocked position to a horizontal locking position. Toward this end, thelatch 56 is formed with locking finger 58 which will engage with theouter or free end of the lever 36 to retain the latter in a lockedposition. The lever 36 also includes a cut out portion 60 and anaccommodating slot 62 which is positioned to receive finger 58 when thelatch 56 is in a horizontal or closed position. Flange 64 which isadapted to engage with surfaces of the split ring 30, assures that thelever will not pivot beyond this horizontal position whether the lever36 is in its closed or open position The latch 56 further maintainslever 36 in a locked position through the disposition of finger 66 ofthe lever within the pocket 68 defined by outwardly projecting surfacesof the latch 56. In order to maintain the latch 56 in its horizontalposition at which the lever 36 is locked, an outwardly projecting dimpleor bead 70 is adapted to be received in and engage with an accommodatingrecess 72 formed on the inner face of the free end of the lever 36 tocause a tight frictional engagement between these surfaces. The free endof the finger 58 may be formed with an opening or hole 74 for receivingthe wire of conventional sealing means 76 which operates to revealpremature opening of the clamping ring 10.

Thus, it will be evident that when the cover 12 is initially applied tothe open end of the drum 14, the clamping ring is assembled around thecover flange 28 and the chime bead of the drum 14 while the lockinglever 36 is in its outwardly extending open position. Thereafter, thelever 36 is pivoted inwardly toward the split ring to contract thelocking ring causing the inwardly extending ring flanges to engage withthe associated surfaces of the cover flange '28 and chime bead 20 untila tight locking relationship is attained. Thereafter, the latch 56 ispivoted downwardly until the latch finger 66 extends through the slot 62and the lever finger 66 extends into the latch pocket 68 which positionis releasably maintained by the interengagement of the latch dimple 70and its accommodating recess 72. The proper relationship of the lockinglever 36 is maintained relative to the split ring 30 and is also assuredwhen the lever is shifted from its open to locked position through thecooperation and interengagement of the hinge strap guides or flanges 48and 50 and associated surfaces or flanges 52 and 54, respectively, ofthe lever 36.

Thus, the aforenoted objects and advantages are most effectivelyattained. Although a somewhat preferred embodiment of the invention havebeen disclosed and described in detail herein, it should be understoodthat this invention is in no sense limited thereby and its scope is tobe determined by that of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An improved clamping ring for use in releasably holding a cover inassembled relationship with a drum comprising:

a split ring having two ends positioned substantially adjacent to oneanother; a locking lever pivotally connected adjacent one of its endswith one of the ends of the split ring;

linkage means for pivotally connecting the other end of the split ringwith an intermediate portion of the locking lever;

the pivotal connections being so constructed and arranged so that thelocking lever is shiftable from an open position away from the splitring at which the split ring is in an expanded position to a lockingposition adjacent surfaces of the split ring at which the split ring isin a contracted position;

a hinge strap bent back upon itself to form a pivot bearing connected tosaid one end of the split ring and the locking lever hingedly connectedat the bearing;

a latch pivotally connected with the split ring and adapted to beshifted from an unlatched position away from the split ring to a latchedposition in interengagement with the lever when the lever is in itslocked position; and

guide means comprised of projecting and interengaging surfaces whichcooperate in guiding the lever from its open to locking position and inmaintaining the lever in such locking position, the guide meanscomprising spaced flanges on the locking lever and flanges on the hingestrap spaced apart less than the lever flanges so that the strap flangesare interposed and nested between and in proximity with the leverflanges when the lever is in its locking position, whereby any upwardlyor downwardly directed force and pressure on the lever will cause itsflanges to engage with the flanges of the strap.

2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said pivotalconnections are disposed at right angles to the plane of the split ringso that the locking lever is shiftable in essentially the samevplane asthe split ring; and the pivotal connection of the latch is disposed atright angles to the split ring so that the latch is shiftable in a planenormal to the plane of the split ring and is adapted to be shifted to aposition essentially in the plane of the split ring when latching thelever in its locking position.

3. The invention in accordance with claim 2 wherein the latch has adepending locking finger which engages with surfaces of the lockinglever to retain the locking lever in its locking position and is adaptedto be shifted away from the plane of the split ring to disengage fromthe locking lever thereby enabling the locking lever to be pivoted toits open position.

4. The invention in accordance with claim 3 wherein the locking leverhas a depending finger and the latch an accommodating pocket forreceiving and engaging with the lever finger in cooperating to retainthe lever in its locked position.

5. The invention in accordance with claim 3 wherein the latch finger andassociated parts of the locking lever include projecting andaccomodating recessed surfaces for cooperating in maintaining the leverin its locked position.

6. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein the clamping ringforms part of a drum assembly which comprises:

a drum having a tubular body, a bottom closure sealing the bottom end ofthe tubular body, and a chime formed at the top open end of the tubularbody;

a cover removably applied to the top open end of the tubular body andhaving a peripheral flange in overlapping relationship with the chime;and

the split ring of the clamping ring having inwardly extending spacedflanges engaging with the cover flange and surfaces of the chime toclose the cover on the drum when the lever is shifted to its lockingposition to contract the split ring, and the clamping ring is adapted tobe removed from and reapplied to the cover and chime when the lever isshifted to its open position at which the split ring is expanded.

1. An improved clamping ring for use in releasably holding a cover inassembled relationship with a drum comprising: a split ring having twoends positioned substantially adjacent to one another; a locking leverpivotally connected adjacent one of its ends with one of the ends of thesplit ring; linkage means for pivotally connecting the other end of thesplit ring with an intermediate portion of the locking lever; thepivotal connections being so constructed and arranged so that thelocking lever is shiftable from an open position away from the splitring at which the split ring is in an expanded position to a lockingposition adjacent surfaces of the split ring at which the split ring isin a contracted position; a hinge strap bent back upon itself to form apivot bearing connected to said one end of the split ring and thelocking lever hingedly connected at the bearing; a latch pivotallyconnected with the split ring and adapted to be shifted from anunlatched position away from the split ring to a latched position ininterengagement with the lever when the lever is in its locked position;and guide means comprised of projecting and interengaging surfaces whichcooperate in guiding the lever from its open to locking position and inmaintaining the lever in such locking position, the guide meanscomprising spaced flanges on the locking lever and flanges on the hingestrap spaced apart less than the lever flanges so that the strap flangesare interposed and nested between and in proximity with the leverflanges when the lever is in its locking position, whereby any upwardlyor downwardly directed force and pressure on the lever will cause itsflanges to engage with the flanges of the strap.
 2. The invention inaccordance with claim 1 wherein said pivotal connections are disposed atright angles to the plane of the split ring so that the locking lever isshiftable in essentially the same plane as the split ring; and thepivotal connection of the latch is disposed at right angles to the splitring so that the latch is shiftable in a plane normal to the plane ofthe split ring and is adapted to be shifted to a position essentially inthe plane of the split ring when latching the lever in its lockingposition.
 3. The invention in accordance with claim 2 wherein the latchhas a depending locking finger which engages with surfaces of thelocking lever to retain the locking lever in its locking position and isadapted to be shifted away from the plane of the split ring to disengagefrom the locking lever thereby enabling the locking lever to be pivotedto its open position.
 4. The invention in accordance with claim 3wherein the locking lever has a depending finger and the latch anaccommodating pocket for receiving and engaging with the lever finger incooperating to retain the lever in its locked position.
 5. The inventionin accordance with claim 3 wherein the latch finger and associated partsof the locking lever include projecting and accommodating recessedsurfaces for cooperating in maintaining the lever in its lockedposition.
 6. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein theclamping ring forms part of a drum assembly which comprises: a drumhaving a tubular body, a bottom closure sealing the bottom end of thetubular body, and a chime formed at the top open end of the tubularbody; a cover removably applied to the top open end of the tubular bodyand having a peripheral flange in overlapping relationship with thechime; and the split ring of the clamping ring having inwardly extendingspaced flanges engaging with the cover flange and surfaces of the chimeto close the cover on the drum when the lever is shifted to its lockingposition to contract the split ring, and the clamping ring is adapted tobe removed from and reapplied to the cover and chime when the lever isshifted to its open position at which the split ring is expanded.